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| Bruce Baklarian |
TORONTO—
Accessible Media Inc. is a not-for-profit multimedia organization
with the mission to make all media accessible
to all Canadians. AMI operates two
broadcast services: AMI-audio and AMI-TV,
along with a website. By making print,
broadcast, and online media accessible,
AMI serves more than 5 million Canadians
who are blind or partially sighted, deaf
or hard of hearing, learning disabled,
mobility- or print-restricted,
or who are learning English
as a second language.
For the television audience,
we add audio description for
50 to 60 percent of the video
content to allow blind persons
or those with low vision to enjoy
the programming. This is
an achievement that required a
great deal of effort.
In order to add the audio description,
we ingest the source
material and then remix the
soundtrack to a specific level
to provide space in the mix for
the narration. We then record a
voice actor who reads from a script that
describes the action. The goal is to produce
a final mix that combines the original
soundtrack and the audio description as
seamlessly as possible.
NO MORE HARDWARE METERS
To ensure compliance with ATSC loudness
standards and the highest audio quality
for our audience, we use Nugen Audio’s
VisLM visual loudness metering software
as a mixing tool in four post-production
suites. The VisLM plug-in replaced bulky analog
hardware loudness meters previously
used for this purpose. It provides a familiar
and intuitive equivalent to a hardware
meter, offering both short- and long-term
loudness readings, and, very importantly, a
histogram.
When producing a mix that incorporates
audio description, we measure the
overall average loudness of incoming material
and adjust it to accommodate the
actor’s voice level. As we mix, we increase
or decrease the level accordingly. VisLM’s
display provides operators with an instant
confirmation that’s easy to read. The indication
is just like a standard meter display, but
also includes a histogram that gives you an
overview of the volume weight over time.
In addition to describing
prerecorded
material, we also do
live description, and
that’s where the histograms
are especially
helpful. With VisLM,
you know where you
are at a glance. Unlike
some other loudness
meters, VisLM’s layout
is intuitive and easy to
understand. You can
calibrate it according to
your needs, and there
are options for customization.
VisLM provides
us with the confidence
that everything needed is there and under
control in a live program situation.
The success we had in our Toronto operation
with the VisLM product was so
good that we’ve now expanded its use to
all of our production centers across Canada.
Sometimes there isn’t time for us to do a full
edit and mix in our Toronto facility, so the
video team uses VisLM to create a rough mix
for quick turnaround. If there’s a second airing
of the program later, we’ll then do a full
edit and mix. As everyone involved is using
VisLM, the content is ready to use when it
gets to us, and that helps us cope with our
large volume of work. VisLM is cost-effective
and much easier to use than the alternatives.
Also, unlike the alternatives, it’s highly compatible
with other tools we use.
Bruce Baklarian is an audio editor at
Accessible Media Inc. in Toronto. He may be
contacted at Bruce.Baklarian@ami.ca.
For additional information, contact
Nugen Audio at 44-113-357-2250 or visit
www.nugenaudio.com.